Yesterday's return by Maggie C

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Yesterday's Return (8/8)
by Maggie C

Devon was still asleep in John's arms as they traveled back to camp. It had become late, but it was a clear night, and the twin moons provided enough light to travel by. Danziger trudged to the top of a hill and found the welcome sight of camp before them. "Devon," he said, "wake up."

Devon blinked open her eyes and looked up at Danziger. "Hey, why did you let me fall asleep?" she asked, annoyed.

"You couldn't keep your eyes open," he replied. "You obviously needed the sleep."

"Well, then why'd you wake me up?" she returned.

He grinned down at her. "Look."

She followed his gaze and matched his grin when she saw camp. "We're back!" she said excitedly.

"Yup," John said, still smiling as he started to half walk, half jog the remaining short distance to camp.

Devon tried to extract herself from his arms, without success. "You could put me down now," she said hopefully. John just looked at her. "All right, all right," she conceded. "I had to try."

They reached camp and quickly made their way to the remains of the campfire, where only Yale, Julia, and Alonzo still waited for them. They were all half-asleep though, and Danziger called out to let them know they were back. All three came fully awake then, and they jumped up and rushed to greet them. Then they moved back to allow Danziger to put Devon down and sit beside her. "Julia, you better take a look at Devon's ankle," he said.

Alonzo volunteered to get her diaglove while Julia bent to take a look at her ankle. "What happened?" she asked.

Danziger grinned, and before Devon could answer, said, "She tripped."

"Oh, don't start," Devon said, exasperated. "It was your fault, anyway."

"*My* fault," Danziger said incredulously. "You were the one who wasn't watching where you were going."

As he listened to the familiar banter, Yale smiled and looked knowingly at Julia, who had the same smile on her face. Everything was back to normal. "It's good to have you back," Yale interrupted, still smiling.

Both of them stopped arguing and returned Yale's smile. Alonzo arrived with the diaglove and interrupted any other response. Julia quickly put it on and scanned Devon's ankle. "It's not broken, but it is a pretty bad sprain. It's a good thing you weren't trying to walk on it, Devon. That would have made it much worse," Julia said as she repaired the damage to Devon's ankle.

Devon groaned and looked at Danziger, who had his mouth open, ready to comment. "Don't even say it," she warned. He wisely shut his mouth, and settled for a satisfied smirk instead.

Suddenly, a voice pierced the darkness. "Uly, wake up, they're back!" True cried as she ran out of their tent towards John and Devon. She reached them quickly and tried to hug both of them at once.

John and Devon returned the hug as Uly came running out of their tent also. True moved to sit in her dad's lap while Uly threw himself at his mom. Devon smiled at John over Uly's head and said, "This is a great welcome, guys, but you should be asleep. You both need it." She looked at True. "Especially you, True."

"But I slept all afternoon," True protested.

"Yeah, she didn't even help set up your tent," Uly complained. Danziger and Devon looked over to where he was pointing, and found their tent set up next to the kids', as it usually was.

Devon stifled a laugh as True stuck her tongue out at Uly. "So, I've been kicked out, is that it?"

"Yeah, you have," True said, smiling. "Besides, we're up because we have to ask you something," she said, a bit nervously.

"Oh?" Danziger asked, "What's so important it can't wait till morning?"

Uly and True shared a nervous glance. Uly glanced at Yale, Julia, and Alonzo, still sitting and listening to the conversation. Alonzo caught his eye, smiled, and nodded slightly. Uly looked to True again, and before either could lose their nerve, they asked at once, "Can I call you mom/dad?"

Alonzo, Julia, and Yale all smiled at the shocked expressions that appeared on Devon and John's faces. Their shock quickly faded, and they smiled down at the worried faces looking up at them. Both parents accepted the offer enthusiastically, and suddenly True was hugging Devon, and Uly, John.

Devon looked at John over True's head and smiled. He smiled back, and after a moment, said, "Okay, guys, go to sleep now. We'll see you in the morning." Surprisingly, the kids agreed without much protest. They walked to their tent, and then they stopped, glanced at each other, and grinning, said "Night, Mom, night, Dad." Then they ran into their tent, leaving Devon and Danziger to smile after them.

After True and Uly disappeared into their tent, Yale watched as Devon and John shared a smile. He knew how much both of them worried that their relationship had moved too fast for the kids, that True and Uly weren't adjusting. However, Yale and practically everyone else knew that both kids loved the fact that their parents were married. To them, they now had a "normal" family. That isn't to say that Devon and John aren't good parents, or that Uly or True loved their respective parent any less. Yale knew that Uly was always a little jealous of kids with both a mom and dad. It was most likely the same for True. ~Maybe now they'll finally realize that the kids are really happy about the marriage and their new extended family.~

After a moment, Julia broke the silence. "How's your ankle now, Devon?" she asked.

Devon stood up and tentatively placed her weight on her injured ankle. She smiled and said, "Good as new, thanks, Julia."

"No problem, Devon," Julia smiled back. Then she stood and said, "Well, I think I'll go and get some sleep now. Goodnight, everyone."

Alonzo stood as well. He grinned mischievously and said, "Yeah, she *thinks* she's going to get some sleep." Everyone laughed as Julia faked annoyance at Alonzo. "'Night, everyone," he said as they walked off to their tent.

"I think I'll be going too," Yale said. He walked over to Devon and gave her a hug. "I'm glad you're all right," he said. He looked at Danziger. "And you too. You had us all very worried for a while."

"Thanks, Yale," Danziger said, and he stood and walked over to clasp the cyborg's hand. Then he put his arm around Devon, looked around, and asked, "Who's on duty tonight, anyway?"

"Walman," Yale answered. "You didn't run into him?"

Devon and John both shook their heads no. "We probably just slipped by him," Devon said, but she was thinking, ~He probably fell asleep again.~

"Well, I'll see you in the morning," Yale said, and walked off to the tent he shared with Cameron and Matazl. Devon and Danziger headed to their tent as well, John's arm still around Devon's shoulders. Suddenly Devon stopped and grinned. John looked at her as she motioned for him to be quiet, and then she pointed to what had caught her eye. Walman was sitting on a log at the edge of camp, with Magus, locked in a passionate embrace. John grinned, and then whispered in Devon's ear, "Well, at least he's not sleeping."

Devon elbowed him in the ribs and bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. After a few seconds, she got her laughter under control and turned to look at John. "So," she said, her eyes twinkling, "do they give you any ideas?"

John grinned at her. "A few," he replied, gazing at her in a way that made Devon melt inside.

They went to their tent, and once they were inside, they met each other in a passionate embrace. They kissed and caressed, chasing away the memory of a torturous dream and the agony of separation. At one point, John paused to look at Devon. Resting a hand on her cheek, he said sincerely, "I love you, Devon."

"I love you," Devon whispered back, her voice full of emotion. Then there were no more words needed between them.

For some reason, Devon woke up in the early morning hours, when the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon. She was about to drift back to sleep when she realized why she had woken up. ~Where's John?~ she thought, sitting up in their cot when she saw that he wasn't in their tent. She was almost ready to panic when John walked into the tent. Seeing the expression on Devon's face, he went right over to her and asked, "Devon, what is it?"

Now that John was sitting beside her, Devon's feelings of panic just before seemed silly. Shaking her head and smiling, she said, "I just don't like waking up alone."

He smiled back. "Sorry," he said, and crawled back into the cot with Devon. "I didn't mean to worry you."

Snuggling up next to him, Devon asked, "Where did you go?"

John hesitated. "I, uh, went to check on the kids." Devon pulled away and looked at John, a question in her eyes. He hesitated again and finally said, "I had a dream and I just felt like looking in on them."

Devon had a pretty good idea what his dream was about. She knew they would both need time to put this incident behind them. But they would, eventually. "Okay," she said, "next time, wake me up and we'll go together."

Danziger propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at Devon. "So, do you want to go to sleep so you can wake up next to me?"

She smiled mischievously at him. "Well, I'm not really that tired. Are you?"

He chuckled and lowered his face to hers. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Devon and Danziger woke up late the next day, to no one's surprise. At the first chance they got, Walman and Baines enthusiastically gave back the responsibility of the TransRover's repairs to Danziger. They were then immediately embarrassed to see him fix the problem they were having with the solar collectors in less than 15 minutes. Danziger just laughed and told them not to worry, it was an easy thing to miss. They walked off, still annoyed with themselves, while John cleaned his tools and put them away. As luck would have it, the crate where he stored his tools was right by the Martin's tent, and he could hear them talking. When he found out what they were discussing, he was shocked. ~Morgan Martin's going to be a father?~ he thought. Then he imagined Morgan waking up for two o'clock feedings and changing diapers, and Danziger had to stifle a laugh. He quickly finished putting his tools away and went to tell Devon.

The last day at the lake passed quickly. Night came and everyone gathered around the campfire. True and Uly, with a little help from everyone else, managed to talk their dad into a ghost story. When he was done, True and Uly were sent to bed, in spite of their best efforts to stay out a little longer. The rest of the group stayed around the fire, talking, joking, and enjoying each other's company.

Then Denner, who was sitting across from Danziger and Devon, caught a glimpse of two figures in the shadows, trying very hard not to be noticed. She grinned, and said, "Looks like we have visitors."

Everyone turned and followed her gaze, and Devon shook her head when she found Uly and True at the other end. "Guys, why aren't you in bed?" she asked, fixing them with a parental stare.

They tried to look innocent. "We can't sleep," True said plaintively.

"Yeah, can't we stay up just a little while?" Uly chimed in.

"Hey," John said, interrupting their protests, "No more arguments. Bed. Now." True and Uly took one look at their parents' faces and knew they were never going to win this one. They slumped off to their tent, defeated. John watched them go and shared an exasperated look with Devon.

"They sure give you guys a hard time about going to sleep," Denner said, still smiling.

John got an idea. Glancing over at Morgan and Bess, he said, "Oh, this is nothing," Danziger said, and nudged Devon. "When True was born, she woke up at least three times a night."

"Uly too," Devon agreed, catching on. "I wasn't able to get a good night's sleep until he was 7 months old, when he started sleeping through the night."

"Seven months?" Danziger asked. "Wow, True didn't sleep through the night until she was almost a year old." He was exaggerating slightly, but the look on Morgan's face was worth it. "And then, when she started teething..." John just shook his head and sighed.

"Oh, I know!" Devon chimed in, also enjoying tormenting Bess and Morgan. They continued to trade parenting horror stories, Morgan and Bess growing increasingly pale with each one. Julia, the only other person in on the joke, started to shake with silent laughter. She covered her mouth to make sure no sound escaped, and tears started running down her face. Eventually, Alonzo noticed, and asked in concern, "Julia, what's wrong?"

That was it, Julia couldn't hold it in anymore. She looked at Alonzo and burst out laughing. Danziger and Devon bit back laughs as well while the rest of the group looked at their doctor like she was going crazy. Julia began to get her laughter under control, and then she caught Devon and Danziger's gaze. Then all three of them burst out laughing. Bess and Morgan were finally starting to get it, and they shot the three of them a dirty look. Alonzo caught this look, and finally asked, "So, you want to let the rest of us in on the joke?"

By this time, Danziger had gotten his laughter mostly under control, but Devon and Julia were still giggling. "Morgan, Bess?" he asked, smiling broadly. "Do you want to let everyone else in on the joke?"

"Not particularly," Morgan said dryly, which set all three of them laughing again.

"What is going on?" Denner demanded.

Bess and Morgan shared a defeated look, and then Bess announced the news. "We're going to have a baby," she said.

After the initial shock, everyone broke out into grins and congratulated the couple. "Seriously, Morgan, Bess," Danziger said, "congratulations. This is great."

"Yeah," Devon chimed in, "We're really happy for you two. You'll make great parents."

Bess smiled and said, "Thanks." She paused for a moment and then asked nervously, "So, before, you were just making up all that stuff, right?"

Devon looked at John, who was keeping his face turned away from Morgan and Bess so they wouldn't see him trying to contain his laughter. She looked into Morgan and Bess' nervous expressions and finally said, "Yeah, sure." ~No point in scaring them now.~ She said the next part with some hesitation, which she hoped they didn't notice. "We were just teasing you guys."

"Come on guys, I won fair and square!" Baines yelled at Walman, Matazl, and Cameron, and then when he realized that he was the center of attention, said, "Uh-oh."

"Won what?" Danziger asked suspiciously.

"Well, um," Baines looked for a way to squirm out of the trouble he was in, but didn't find any. "We had a bet," he said. "On which couple would be the first to have a kid," he finished.

"Which couples?" Alonzo asked, shocked.

Walman answered him. "Well, Bess and Morgan, you and Julia, and Devon and Danziger."

"When did you start this bet?" Devon asked.

Cameron, a bit sheepish, answered, "Um, about two weeks after Devon got out of cold sleep."

"You've got to be kidding!" Morgan exclaimed. "Devon and Danziger weren't even a couple then!"

"Yeah," Matazl replied, "But they were the favorites. Cameron and Walman both picked them."

Denner and Magus looked at the guys. "How could you guys bet on that?" Magus asked distastefully.

"Oh, don't start," Walman replied, "after all, everybody was in on the pool for Devon and Danziger..." his voice trailed off as he realized his mistake.

"What pool?" Devon demanded.

Danziger turned to Alonzo and repeated, "Yeah, Alonzo, what pool?"

"What?" Alonzo asked, trying to sound innocent. "Why are you looking at me?

"Oh give it up, Alonzo," Julia said, "they know you too well." She turned to Devon and Danziger and said hesitantly, not sure of their reaction, "Alonzo started a pool in the winter camp on when you would finally get together. Everyone got in on it."

Devon looked at John incredulously. He couldn't really blame them, Devon and him had started a bet of their own. He shrugged and gave her a ~What can you do?~ look. "So who won?" he asked, genuinely curious.

Everyone looked embarrassed, and Yale started chuckling. Devon turned to Yale, amazed that he would bet on her, and said, "Yale, you won?"

"No," he replied, still chuckling, "I didn't come close. Actually, no one here did."

"Well, then who won?" she asked.

Alonzo answered. "True and Uly."

Devon bit back a grin. "You're kidding."

Alonzo shook his head. "Nope, they came within one week. No one else even came within a year."

Devon gave up and started giggling. John wasn't laughing, but he was close.

"Hey, no one could have figured Devon being sick. That threw everything off," Alonzo grumbled, but he was hiding a smile.

"We all need hobbies," Julia said, not hiding her wide smile. "This is getting ridiculous."

"Yeah, but at least this is the last of the bets," Alonzo said. Devon let out a choked laugh and tried to disguise it as a cough, but didn't succeed much. Bess and Morgan gave her and Danziger a knowing look, and Devon gave up and started giggling again. When everyone started staring at her, she started laughing out loud. Then Danziger started laughing, and their laughter was infectious. Soon everyone was laughing, and the sound carried out into the night. And somewhere, a lone Terrian cocked his head and listened.

-The End-

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